How did you acquire your first tortoise?

[cherylim]

Hello all!

I'm feeling bored and a little tortoise-lonely.

In order not to encourage pet shop tortoise trading, I searched a lot for a breeder to buy my first tortoise from. I e-mailed five or six (the only ones I could find within driving distance), and only one replied. Now, I'm playing the waiting game. The breeder has said she'll send me photographs of the tortoises (I was expecting them just under a week ago) and said she'd know by early this week when she could deliver my new friend. Waiting a week for an expected e-mail that hasn't arrived is torture!

So, since I need some cheering up, how did you all get your first tortoises? How old were you? Where did you buy/adopt them from? How did you feel the day you got them? I need some happy tortoise tales!

 

[Jacqui]

I had turtles from way back in the 60s with the dime store red eared slider hatchlings. I didn't get my first tortoise until about 29 years ago (it just seems impossible that it's been that long, but my kids point out other things happening at the same time which dates the tortoises). I went into a local (60 miles away) fish store to see what new turtles they had in stock. This was at a time, when all these neat turtles and tortoises were available fairly cheap and in great supply. They had a pair of these strange animals called, Bells hingeback tortoises.

I had no idea anything about them. I took them home. Checked out the species in the only book I had on tortoises at the time. Just by luck, I did enough right by them that they survived and went on to also have my first tortoise hatchlings (actually my first two clutches). Wish we had the power of the internet and a forum like this. I mean there was the internet, but I wasn't able to fully use it then and there were no good sites like this one. My friend in our local herp club was more computer literate and had stumbled upon a tortoise person in CA with hingebacks and that person gave me what little knowledge she had on them at the time.

 

[cherylim]

I mean there was the internet, but I wasn't able to fully use it then and there were no good sites like this one. My friend in our local herp club was more computer literate and had stumbled upon a tortoise person in CA with hingebacks and that person gave me what little knowledge she had on them at the time.

As someone who had only ever seen tortoises in zoos before this year, I find it pretty amazing to think that they used to be so easy to find and buy. I know they can obviously still be bought from pet shops now, but it seems like so many people online have had a 'family tortoise' in the past - and yet, I've never met anyone who did!

 

[Jacqui]

The problem with these mass amounts of turtles and tortoises being so easily gotten is... we killed high numbers of them. These animals came in back when we were so totally stupid and ignorant to put it mildly. From how they were transported, to how the stores kept them, to how we the buyers took care of them. Turtles in particular were so commonly miss ID (atleast in this area). We kept these animals in too small of containers, too cold, no proper lighting, just no thoughts to their real needs or what the environment was like where they came from. The knowledge we so easily share with new folks today on the very most basic tortoise needs, came from the deaths of a lot of animals. That's for me one reason I am on here. I feel I owe a debt to those animals.

 

[cherylim]

The problem with these mass amounts of turtles and tortoises being so easily gotten is... we killed high numbers of them. These animals came in back when we were so totally stupid and ignorant to put it mildly. From how they were transported, to how the stores kept them, to how we the buyers took care of them. Turtles in particular were so commonly miss ID (atleast in this area). We kept these animals in too small of containers, too cold, no proper lighting, just no thoughts to their real needs or what the environment was like where they came from. The knowledge we so easily share with new folks today on the very most basic tortoise needs, came from the deaths of a lot of animals. That's for me one reason I am on here. I feel I owe a debt to those animals.

Yes, I can imagine!

I've tried to learn as much as I can before purchasing my tortoise, and I think I'm finally up to the point where I know the basics and further lessons will come when I'm nurturing my tortoise myself.

I know they're still a relatively 'new' pet though, so there are many things to learn all round.

 

[tyler0912]

Im not going to lie......
i was 10-11yo......
I wanted a tortoise so bad and did not know anything about them i thought one subspecies of tort and they eat leaves...i knew how to care for them basically for a while so we went and got tiago from a petshop i had done research just on a complete diff subspecies but i joined TFO and learnt for the best to care for tiago and now i know how to and what to do but still always learning !

 

[cherylim]

Im not going to lie......
i was 10-11yo......
I wanted a tortoise so bad and did not know anything about them i thought one subspecies of tort and they eat leaves...i knew how to care for them basically for a while so we went and got tiago from a petshop i had done research just on a complete diff subspecies but i joined TFO and learnt for the best to care for tiago and now i know how to and what to do but still always learning !

Aww - and from what I've seen, he's a very happy and well cared for tortoise!

I imagine there's something special in owning one so young, and having such a long time to share a life with your companion. I don't feel old at 23, obviously, but hope my tortoise will have been cared for well enough to live to a good age, which could see her outliving me!

 

[tyler0912]

yes i agree.....id' prefer to get one when your young.....(obviously no offence to the older men and women)
as you can spend alot of your life with it and grow around with it!

 

[Jacqui]

yes i agree.....id' prefer to get one when your young.....(obviously no offence to the older men and women)
as you can spend alot of your life with it and grow around with it!

It will be interesting to watch as you grow up Tyler and seeing if your tortoise remains such an important part of your life, as he is now.

 

[ascott]

All of the tortoise and turtles and dogs were rescues here at our house....I have always had tortoise (specifically CDT) in my life, my two uncles are the link for me to tortoise, snakes (my uncles liked rattlesnakes-always a couple of them round the house when we were kids) exotic and domestic spiders...the uncles would swoop em up while on hikes and camping trips...they would bring them home and keep em for awhile so they could check em out then on their next hikes they would return the ones collected from prior trip ....then track and find and collect new ones....and that was the cycle....

All the critters are permanent residents at our house these days....

 

[tyler0912]

I personaly think it will...well i hope soo.....
Every pet ive had ive got bored of and thought what can i learn from this ive had......
Tarantula,frogs,newts,quails,chicken,chicks,rats,parrot etc.....
and im ashamed to say i got bored i did care for them how i should i just did not feel a bond with most of them it would be hard to anyway for eg...tarantula...
and my tiago even my mum said ive had my tort the longest and my mum said ive'been more intrested in this than anything else....and on my behalf the chicks i had i bred incubated raised to adulthood and sold them off! D:

 

[Baoh]

I found my first hatchling in the mountains of Greece. It was the only survivor that emerged in a small nest that was dug just outside of a chicken coop.

 

[drgnfly2265]

Someone I worked with heard that I wanted a tortoise and they knew a sulcata breeder. He said that he told him about me and said that the breeder would give me a good deal. I read about basic care and about how big they get. So $30 later and I'm leaving Publix with a one week old sulcata! While there (before we left) shopping to get her food (great place to be I guess) other shoppers asked where I got her and, well, I had to say from this store And almost everyone responded with "which isle?"

 

[dmmj]

I was 8 bought my first RES as a bday gift, and have had them ever since. Since then I have only bought a few I mainly take in unwanted ones now and adoptions from the CTTC.

 

[HipsterTorts]

I was 17...haha I'm still 17.
I got my first tortoise 2 months ago, and then the second one about a month later. I've always wanted a tortoise but it was something my mom wanted me to be able to do on my own.

 

[Neltharion]

I received a Desert Tort when I was about 10, I named him Flint after the G.I. Joe character. My uncle found him somewhere in south Nevada and brought it back with him. He was already over a foot long. We did not know for sure that 'he' was a 'he' until many years later. Yes, he was taken from the wild and transported over State lines. I'm not sure if it was illegal back then, as it is now. He lived in the backyard at my parents' house, had an old doghouse for a hide, also dug numerous burrows. There was a concrete fireplace pit built in the backyard, that we actually filled with water for him. There was actually nothing to stop him from burrowing under the fence and escaping. For some reason, he never left. He ate a lot off the aloe plants, clover and grass. We gave him alfalfa hay, and other supermarket greens too.

When I left for college, my parents continued to care for him, since apartment life wouldn't have been good for him. Funny thing is when I got back, my father wouldn't let me take him. Flint still lives in my parents' backyard to this day.

 

[Newbie5564]

I got my first tortoise when I was 15. I wanted one for a while but my mom said you have to wait one year and if you still want one you can have one(she new how bored I got with my pets) well 9 months later I was still saving and that's the longest I saved $250 since I always invest in my saltwater aquariums. And then somebody from school asked do you want a tortoise they always saw me researching tortoises and such. And I got my first tortoise severly malnurited and on the brink of deathafter it was lost for 2 weeks(it was poorly taken care of before that now he's little tank. But I have only had him 4 months and I still give him as much attention as the first day I got him

 

[Blondeangel]

Last summer I was outside gardening - I went to pull out a bush from the ground & there was a tortoise sleeping next to it. Took him in as I was pretty sure he wasn't wild being a Russian Tortoise in South Florida. I live in a gated neighborhood that is surrounded completely by a canal except the entrance gate, so unless he walk in that way, I'm assuming someone in the neighborhood lost him or let him go. I tried to find an owner but no luck so now he's claimed the backyard. Have since purchased two Leopard Tortoises & adopted an abandoned Pancake Tortoise from work.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Hello all!

I'm feeling bored and a little tortoise-lonely.

In order not to encourage pet shop tortoise trading, I searched a lot for a breeder to buy my first tortoise from. I e-mailed five or six (the only ones I could find within driving distance), and only one replied. Now, I'm playing the waiting game. The breeder has said she'll send me photographs of the tortoises (I was expecting them just under a week ago) and said she'd know by early this week when she could deliver my new friend. Waiting a week for an expected e-mail that hasn't arrived is torture!

So, since I need some cheering up, how did you all get your first tortoises? How old were you? Where did you buy/adopt them from? How did you feel the day you got them? I need some happy tortoise tales!

My first was a Hermann's, probably an Eastern, and she was my grandfather's pet for about 30 years, until his passing, when I was 17.

At that point, I inherited and shared my home with her for for about 19 more years.

It was the most natural thing to me, as I grew up helping him feed her and the two of them were always linked together in my mind.

---

The problem with these mass amounts of turtles and tortoises being so easily gotten is... we killed high numbers of them. These animals came in back when we were so totally stupid and ignorant to put it mildly. From how they were transported, to how the stores kept them, to how we the buyers took care of them. Turtles in particular were so commonly miss ID (atleast in this area). We kept these animals in too small of containers, too cold, no proper lighting, just no thoughts to their real needs or what the environment was like where they came from. The knowledge we so easily share with new folks today on the very most basic tortoise needs, came from the deaths of a lot of animals. That's for me one reason I am on here. I feel I owe a debt to those animals.

True...right after I inherited my Grandfather's tortoise, in 1974, I found a department store pet shop that had a bunch of adult Hermann's selling for $2.98 per!

Naturally, I purchased a male companion for her, but he wasn't very healthy (turns out none at that store were) and lived maybe 2 months.

 

[Sky2Mina]

Love this thread. Gives me a chance to read tortoise stories and also tell my own (to people who might actually be interested!!).

Terry, what a wonderful story of your grandfathers tortoise. I bet the tortoise was such a great memory of your grandfather as well.

Cherylim, I can understand what you're going through. I hate waiting. I waited three months. But actually I think it's also a good thing... gives you time to do the research and prepare yourself, as well as testing if you really really want a tortoise or if it's only a fix idea.

Initially I wanted a Greek Tortoise. But I'm in Thailand, so there are no 'real' breeders here. There are some Sulcata Breeders and sometimes others manage to breed other species (but rarely that they're sold, imports are still the norm), but absolutely none for Greek or other Testudo Tortoises. I heard they come in Seasons (not sure from where) so I waited patiently for three months (I thought they'd be available in May-June) but until today, haven's seen any being sold at all.
At one point I couldn't wait any longer (yeah, I guess it's not good) and went to the pet-market to take a look at star tortoises (they are always available). I really loved them, but the torts in the petshop, i almost bought one, didn't seem healthy.
A few days later I saw an inquiry in the Internet with detailed pictures of small star tortoises. I chose mine from 3 remaining ones and the reason I chose her over others, is because she sticked out her head while being held up to take a picture. I thought, maybe she'd have a more outgoing character than the others. The next day I met the seller and picked her up. She was so tiny and cute. I was happy.
I can't really compare Luka with the character of other star torts but I believe she is quite outgoing for a star tortoise! Of course, she sleeps a lot, because she's a baby, but she will also walk around a lot in the morning, eat a lot, crawl onto my hand if I put food there and eat out of my hand. The reason why I first didn't consider star tortoise, was because someone told me all they do is eat and sleep. Oh, and I was 23 when I got her, and I still am.

I really really love keeping a tortoise as a pet. Most people will look at me strangely when I tell them about my pet, and tell me how boring and slow tortoises are but they have no idea, right? Luka can 'run' quite fast after some food.
When I was young I also wanted a tortoise, but my mom said: "Why do you want one? They're boring. XY has one and she thinks they're boring."
I don't remember how old I was, but I believed her. I had lots of other pets like guinea pigs and mice. But they usually make me nervous handling them (especially mice and hamsters), thinking they could run away any second, whereas tortoise are just perfect and kind of 'peaceful'. (plus I'm allergic to most furry pets, so tortoises are perfect )

I also love about tortoise that there's always something new to learn. I read here everyday for almost 6 month now and I still don't have enough (information). I like it, it's more of a challenge.

Thanks for 'listening' to my rant.